The Impact of Tidal Disruption Events on Galactic Habitability

TL;DR

This paper investigates how Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) emit high-energy radiation that can threaten planetary atmospheres and biological life, suggesting TDEs significantly influence galactic habitability, especially near the galactic center.

Contribution

It provides a quantitative analysis of TDEs' impact on planetary atmospheres and habitability, highlighting their importance alongside active galactic nuclei effects.

Findings

Planets within 0.1-1 kpc could lose atmospheres over Earth's age

TDEs can cause biological damage approximately every 10,000 years

Impact of TDEs is comparable to that of active galactic nuclei

Abstract

Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) are characterized by the emission of a short burst of high-energy radiation. We analyze the cumulative impact of TDEs on galactic habitability using the Milky Way as a proxy. We show that X-rays and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation emitted during TDEs can cause hydrodynamic escape and instigate biological damage. By taking the appropriate variables into consideration, such as the efficiency of atmospheric escape and distance from the Galactic center, we demonstrate that the impact of TDEs on galactic habitability is comparable to that of Active Galactic Nuclei. In particular, we show that planets within distances of $\sim 0.1$-$1$ kpc could lose Earth-like atmospheres over the age of the Earth, and that some of them might be subject to biological damage once every $\gtrsim 10^4$ yrs. We conclude by highlighting potential ramifications of TDEs and argue that they should be factored into future analyses of inner galactic habitability.